Overdue Update & Lessons Learned

Well, it's been about three months since I posted.

After introducing dairy, I realized I was reacting to it.  Within a week, my old abdominal pain (deep aches) came back.  I knew I needed to eliminate it for longer.  In addition, Minnesota was in the middle of a huge heat wave.  It got HOT.  And all I was eating was soup.  I don't do well with heat, so the soup really started to bother me.

The beginning of the end happened on August 23rd; I was performing on stage and during my piece, I completely spaced out.  It was a busy day and I had not had time to gulp down some soup.  So I just hadn't eaten.  Directly after my performance, I knew I needed to eat something - and fast.  I grabbed the only thing available to me - a cookie.  I only had a bite.  It was too sweet, and I didn't even love it.  But I knew I needed something to eat, and that's what I had.

It's funny.. shortly after that, I couldn't control my appetite.  The next day I was craving sweets and pastries again.  Because of the heat, my slip-up, and my own frustration with not seeing improvement in joint pain - I decided to go off the diet for awhile.

My husband also noticed reactions to dairy, and decided he'd be interested in GAPS too.  So we gave it some thought and decided to do it after the holidays are over.  We'll be starting GAPS January 2014.  Most likely on the 1st.... even though it is so cliche!  But it makes counting the days easier, and all the holiday celebrations will be over at that point.

In the meantime, we are doing a bit of a modified GAPS intro, prior to Thanksgiving celebrations.  Through this, and my first experience with GAPS intro, I have learned a few things:

• Be prepared for die-off:  When I'm sick, I just don't feel like cooking.  I need to have meals pre-cooked for each stage of the diet, so I have something quick to grab.
• Be prepared for stress:  Last weekend, we got a call that my husband's dad had a gun accident.  Thank god he was okay, but one of the first things my husband said when we were figuring out when to go visit was, "I can't stay on the diet, I'm too stressed."  If we are going to seriously do this long-term, we need to have a plan in place.  There will always be emergencies or other stressful events to deal with.  We have to have a plan in place.  Again, this comes down to being prepared.
• Move quickly:  The first time I attempted GAPS, I took three weeks on Stage 1.  I did this because I was hoping my joint pain would lessen before I moved on.  I wanted to know what foods might be causing my pain.  However, it's so important to move quickly so that you can get to the stages where you can eat more food.  This way, you don't get bored and you end up being more satisfied.  I hadn't moved on because Stage 2 is all about EGGS, and eggs can sometimes be implicated in joint pain.  I haven't figured out what to do about this yet - skip eggs and move right to Stage 3?  I think I also might want to avoid nuts too, since I haven't done well with them in the past either.  Argh!

Also, I wanted to keep a quick note of the foods I'm concerned about:

• eggs - joint pain, digestive distress?
• nightshades - joint pain
• dairy - dull abdominal pain
• nuts - acute stomach pain
• zucchini - blistering of skin
• honey or anything with natural sugar - brain fog

Day 16 of GAPS continued...

I forgot to mention a couple of unexpected "side effects" of GAPS:

1. For as long as I can remember, I've had bumps on the back of my arms.  This used to really bother me... It still bothers me, I guess, but I've learned to live with it.  But since starting GAPS, the bumps seem to be lessening.  Yay!  Even my husband noticed.
2. Also, like countless other women, I have cellulite on my hips and thighs.  When you lose weight, sometimes it can make the cellulite seem worse because it becomes more pronounced.  But with GAPS, it seems like the cellulite is lessening too!  I think it might be all the collagen, gelatin, etc. that I'm eating with the broths.
3. I no longer want to watch TV all night!  Up until a few years ago, I really didn't love to watch TV.  I would get bored and go do something else.  Which is how I prefer it.  But these past few years, I've really just wanted to "veg" in front of the TV, no matter what was on.  Sometimes to the detriment of what I needed to do (work, house stuff, etc.).  It was depressing to me!  I'm happy to say that I pretty much have no interest in watching TV anymore!  That was DEFINITELY unexpected!  I wonder if "vegging" in front of the TV released some hormone that calmed me... and I don't need it anymore?  Huh.  Any thoughts?

My yogurt just got done and I ate some about 30 minutes ago.  I was so excited!  I really hope it goes well.  BUT... I may be noticing the following symptoms:  ear ache, skin itchiness, possibly an irritated throat, and a bit of a tummy ache.  I have no idea if I'm imagining it since I'm watching for every little thing and sitting here just thinking about it!  So I will give it some time.  I started with a half cup.  The GAPS book says to start with a teaspoon.  I was like - OMG no.  How in the world would I limit myself to a TEASPOON???  :)  I thought limiting to a half cup was pretty good.  I also mixed a small little bit of honey into it.  Yum!

Prior to eating the bowl of yogurt, I quickly tried a small little bite of the cream cultured with yogurt.  It was good!  I probably ate about a 1/2 tsp, just for a quick taste.  :)  If all goes well with the yogurt, sour cream will probably be next.

Day 16 of GAPS (48 days into LEAP)

I'm long overdue for an update.

The first week of GAPS - I felt pretty good overall.  My digestion improved a lot and very quickly - within a day or two.  I still have "deeper" pain in my abdominal area.  But the really sharp pains I would get have gone away.  I didn't have cravings and I felt pretty satisfied.  I really tried to make sure that I was eating enough food and that I didn't get overly hungry.  I feel like my appetite decreased a bit over the week, but nothing drastic.  I think all the fat on the diet really helped me feel full.  I still had joint pain at the end of Week 1.

My story for dairy this week - I had decided to add dairy in on the second week of GAPS.  With the LEAP diet, I have been off dairy for five weeks, so I felt like it was time to add in good raw yogurt.  I ordered some from our farm (where we are members) and it was supposed to be delivered last Tuesday (day 6 of GAPS).  I have to make 24 hour yogurt, so it would have been done fermenting late on Day 7, which would have been perfect.  Well, for some reason the drop got screwed up - someone picked up our products, or something.  So I didn't get it that day.... I was SO disappointed!  So later that week, we decided to head up to the farm on our way up to my husband's 20th reunion.  Well, work ran late, and it took forever to get packed, and by the time we headed up there, it was going to be close to 10pm by the time we got up there.  I texted our farmer and she said, okay the porch light will be on until 10pm, if the lights are off, that means she's gone to bed and it's locked.  WELL, we didn't want to drive an hour out of our way and then show up and have it be locked (we were really cutting it close on the timing!).  So we decided not to go.  Then she texted us and said to come anyway, she'd make sure we could pick up.  But we were already about 10 miles past our exit.  It was getting so late, we decided not to go.  I truly could have cried!  That's how emotional I was about this damn yogurt!!!  It's been so long since I've had food variety, I was REALLY looking forward to it!  So I just thought - I'll order next Tuesday, it's not that much longer to wait.  And of course on Monday, the farmer texted and said her daughter had gone into early labor and the milk would be delivered on THURSDAY!  What????  Aaahhhhh!!!!  I thought I was going to die.  Okay, so FINALLY we got yogurt yesterday and I got it fermenting ASAP, and it will be ready today around 7:30 PM.  THANK GOD.  So I will actually be starting dairy into my third week on GAPS.

The second week of GAPS - I decided to stay on Stage 1 until I could introduce yogurt.  As you can see, that has turned into quite a fiasco.  So I went through my second week of GAPS, still on Stage 1 (minus yogurt) and I just felt like I was at a plateau.  I'm not sure if that's because I am on Stage 1 for too long, or if my body is just working through things, or what.  My joints still hurt and that is disappointing.  So on Tuesday night, I realized I hadn't done some of the *extra* things on GAPS - things like detox baths, enemas, castor oil compresses, etc.  So I did them all on Tuesday night.  Yikes!  That was a mistake!  I woke up on Wednesday and felt terrible!  I could barely get to work and make it through and hour and a half of meetings.  So Wednesday night, what did I do - well, I decided to do it all again - enema, detox bath, castor oil compress.  I thought that I might as well get all that bad stuff out!!!  As you probably guessed, Thursday I woke up feeling even worse!  Again, I just made it through some meetings at work and then came home.  I was lightheaded/dizzy, weak, nauseous, had blurry vision and a headache.  And I was EXHAUSTED.  All day.  I hope since feeling terrible corresponded with the extra detox things I did, I hope and assume it was die-off.  Because if it was die-off, maybe I will eventually feel a lot better!  Today (Friday), I do feel better than I did on Wednesday and Thursday.  I didn't do any of the detox things yesterday, I was quite literally too exhausted.  But -sigh- I still have joint pain.  I still feel achy.  I still have "deep" pain in my abdomen.  I am still constipated.  I still lack energy.

There is conflicting advice out there - Leave Stage 1 as soon as your immediate digestive concerns settle down (which happened to me within 2-3 days), but no longer than 7 days no matter what.  OR Stay on Stage 1 for as long as it takes for your major symptoms to subside.  For me, that's my joint pain.  I have been concerned about eggs and nightshades for my joints.... and Stage 2 adds eggs right away.  Nightshades come quickly thereafter.  So I am left with this dilemma...   Stay on Stage 1 for a long time (how long will it take?) or take a risk and move onto Stage 2, trusting that if I'm healing my gut, my joint pain will resolve itself in due time.  After a lot of soul searching this week, I have decided to move to do the latter, and move to Stage 2 early next week.  This is truly not because I am wanting more food variety (well, I am.... but that's not why I'm moving on).... I feel like my body is telling me it needs more nutrition.  And since I was on LEAP for a full month before this, I've been off of eggs and nightshades for 6 weeks.  Theoretically, that should be enough time to tell a difference.  Except that my joint pain hasn't gotten better, so how am I supposed to know if eggs/nightshades make a difference?  Ah!  I'm pretty frustrated.  Okay, but I'm pretty convinced I need to add new foods.  So here my progression so far, and what I plan to do:

• Day 1-15:  I ate meat broth, boiled meats, animal fats (no dairy yet), and boiled vegetables - only carrots, leeks, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, winter squash.  Sea salt for seasoning.  Questionable foods (made my stomach kind of rumbly):  cauliflower, leeks
• Day 16-18:  Introduce 24-hour fermented raw goat yogurt.
• Day 19:  If all goes well with yogurt, move to Stage 2, introduce egg yolk first.  If the yogurt doesn't go well, I will eliminate it again, let my digestive system settle down, and then move to Stage 2 without yogurt.

I have read that it is safe and healthy to stay on Stage 3 indefinitely.  So my goal is to try to get to Stage 3 (still going slowly with the introductions in Stage 2) and stay there until my joint pain subsides.  

I have also realized that I probably have not been getting enough natural probiotics.  I am supposed to be having sauerkraut liquid and/or fermented dairy everyday.  Well, I've really been doing neither.  I ran out of sauerkraut liquid probably about a week ago, and I really need to make more.  Actually, I'm going to buy more... There's a woman at our local farmers market that sells THE BEST lacto-fermented sauerkraut.  I'll be going on Saturday to get some.  I cannot wait!  This stuff is amazing.  And the yogurt will definitely help.  It brings up the point that this stuff takes a long time to make (waiting for it to ferment), so preparation is key.

It's also been a long time since I've posted my measurements.  I am FINALLY losing weight, remember that last post where I explained how I dropped so quickly.... yeah, well I've been losing since then!  Not that fast of course.  Actually, I've really needed to make sure that I'm eating enough so that I don't lose very quickly... So here's where I'm at right now:

• Weight:  173.9 (started at 191.7, down 17.8 pounds)
• Clothing Size:  14 (started at 16, down 1 size)
• Waist:  40.5 (started at 43.25, down 2.75")
• Hips:  43.25 (started at 45.5, down 2.25")
• Upper Arms:  12.375 (started at 12.75, down 0.375")
• Upper Thighs:  24.375 (started at 25.75, 1.375")
• Calves:  15.625 (started at 15.875, down 0.25")
• Bust:  39.5 (started at 41.5, down 2")

That's a total of 9" lost!  I can really feel it of course.  I am solidly in a Size 14 now, and I finally was able to ditch some jeans and a belt that I got when I was my biggest.  That felt good!  I will keep donating clothes as I lose weight.  But I won't ditch anything smaller than a Size 12 until I know I'm going to stay down.  I don't want to have to buy a whole new wardrobe!  My regular adult size should be about a Size 8.  So if I could get down to a Size 10 again, I'd be pretty darn happy.  So I'll make sure I stay there for at least six months before I donate any Size 12s.

Well this has been a long enough post!  I haven't posted much because I've been busy with work and I haven't introduced foods.  I'll try to post again sooner!

Day 35 of LEAP, Day 3 of GAPS

Thumbs up so far for GAPS.  My digestion is definitely improved.  I do seem to notice a bit of issue with cauliflower, so I'm going to leave it out for the next day to see if anything changes.  I haven't noticed any changes with joint pain though.  It's only been a few days, and I read a blog posting from someone else who said that their joint pain went away in two weeks on GAPS.  So I guess I'll keep trying.  :)

A couple of things of note:

• I forgot to mention that about 27 days into the LEAP diet, I still hadn't lost much weight... Maybe three pounds.  Although my weight fluctuates enough that I would still call that negligible.  On Day 28 and 29, I had some very.... shall we say... unpleasant..... uh, movements.  Although going to the bathroom is an unpleasant topic, I still am a firm believer that it should actually be talked about more.  I mean, the digestion system has so much influence on our overall well being.  And... well, everyone poops!  Plus, when you're looking for answers on the internet, sometimes you really just need to hear the truth.  So here goes... I'll try to be brief and to the point.  But close your eyes if you don't want to read this.  For two days in a row, I had poops that were very close to diarrhea but with hard chunks in it.  There were also "stages" during the same "session" of very soft stool too.  It was very unpleasant and I actually felt kind of sick.  I probably spend about 10-15 minutes on the toilet, which is quite unusual for me.  Although I've had abdominal pain and stomach discomfort for a long time, I haven't really had "bad" bowel movements.  This was new for me.  Well, anyway, each day once those were done, I felt normal and went about my day.  A couple days later, I had lost SEVEN more pounds, bringing my total weight loss to about 10 pounds.  I finally went down a half a pant size (I say half because women's clothes are so strange - I'm wearing pants I didn't fit into a week ago, but they still say size 16.  I'm also wearing some of the "larger" 14's that I have.)  I'm convinced those bathroom experiences had something to do with me dropping weight in such a short amount of time, after having held on to the weight for close to a month.  I was eating such a clean diet, and I still was not losing weight.  Something happened - a detox of sorts, I guess - and I suddenly lost a bunch.  It's still too early to tell, but it appears to be continuing.  I'm down 11-12 pounds now, depending on the day (since I still fluctuate).
• Day 1 of GAPS was pretty darn easy for me, since it was so close to how I was already eating.  The main thing is that my digestion liked it better.  By the end of Day 1, I was pretty tired and just wanted to get to bed.  On Day 2, I woke up feeling worse, still fatigued and achy (my joint felt worse), and I think I was having a bit of a "die off" reaction.  Later that day, my husband and I were working in the kitchen and all of a sudden I was like - I have to go to the bathroom right now.  It was very loose and chunky again, but I had a surge of energy after that, which lasted until 1 AM, when I forced myself to go to bed.
• Today is Day 3 and I'm feeling pretty good, despite lack of sleep from some commotion outside our house last night.  I'll try to keep you posted.

Discouragement... And the Will to Continue. Day 34.

I haven't written in a really long time.  The truth is that I've been incredibly discouraged about this whole thing.  Plus, I got really bored of writing the same thing over and over again... I would eat the same things, feel the same way.

After two weeks on Phase 1, I realized I needed to try something different.  My joint pain hadn't been relieved, which from my research I guess is to be expected.  But more tellingly, my digestion issues hadn't eased up AT ALL.  And maybe had gotten just a tiny bit worse.

So I tried following my nutritionists advice to cut out fructose.  She had told me that if I didn't see relief from symptoms, I should either cut the foods out that I had added from other phases (e.g. lettuce was on Phase 4, but she had let me add it right away so I'd have better variety), or I should cut out fructose.  So I did both.  I researched ... Of the foods I was eating, which ones should be avoided on a low fructose diet (basically FODMAPS).

One day was all I could stand.  My stomach issues got so severe I was literally doubled over in pain after eating.  I specifically remember getting terrible pains after eating a cucumber spear.  However, when I would eat meat, I wouldn't get such bad reactions.

The next day, I tried an all meat diet, just as an experiment.  Just meat patties and bone broth.  Virtually no stomach issues.  The next day I tried the same thing, but added in some cooked beets.  My stomach issues were still pretty good.  Then I added in sweet potatoes.  Not as good as the beets, but still I was feeling better.

I didn't want to maintain this limited diet without some kind of a plan, so I hopped on the internet to see if this new discovery would give me any clues to why I feel so crappy.

So I did a quick google search for something like "feel fine eating meat stomach pain eating raw vegetables."  So scientific!  :)

The search came up with countless stories of Crohn's Disease.  Hmmm....  when I had my colonoscopy last year, it showed inflammation of the terminal ileum (classic Crohn's) but "not enough" to warrant a diagnosis of Crohn's, according to my doc.  In addition, I didn't have the classic diarrhea or weight loss associated with Crohn's.  But I do have severe joint pain, and the stomach issues of course.

So I started diving into researching Crohn's.  Had I just caught my Crohn's early?  Since I have been struggling with health for 25+ years, and have used diet to manage my health, was I just more in tune with my body than other people?  Do other people maybe just ignore these nagging symptoms, or take something to cover them up?  Do I have "pre-Crohn's"?  Did I just make up that term?  I think so.

I have been very familiar with using diet to cure or manage Crohn's, since I had read quite a few of Jordan Rubin's books.  It got me thinking.... What did he do to get better?  What research did he do, and what books was he reading, and who was he talking with?  I realized that Crohn's was just another manifestation of a leaky gut... Which is why I had done the MRT testing in the first place.  I really need to fix that damn thing.

I'll make a long story a little shorter and just get to the end... I decided to continue on Phase 1 of the LEAP diet, while following the protocol for GAPS intro diet.  If you haven't yet heard of GAPS, do a quick google search and you'll find a plethora of info.  I started it yesterday.

As a wrap up to this post, I just wanted to list the foods I at over the couple weeks of "Phase 1", and what I'm eating now.  Note the expansion of foods, especially fruits, from what I was eating before.  The reason I did this (kind of had to do this), is because I had a week of teaching a kids camp, and working 14+ hours a day, and I couldn't get by without some quick hand foods and quick energy.  It was already three weeks into the protocol anyway.  All the foods listed below are still in the Green area on the MRT testing.

For the past month weeks, with the "very limited" being in the last two weeks:

1. Beef
2. Turkey
3. Chicken
4. Elk, Buffalo, Wild Game, Etc.
5. Sweet Potato
6. Oat
7. Quinoa (very limited)
8. Beet
9. Spinach
10. Aspragus
11. Carrot
12. Cucumber
13. Broccoli
14. Cabbage (very limited)
15. String Bean
16. Celery (very limited)
17. Lettuce
18. Cantaloupe (very limited)
19. Olive
20. Apple
21. Cherry (very limited)
22. Raspberry (very limited)
23. Pear (very limited)
24. Banana (very limited)
25. Watermelon (very limited)
26. Grape (very limited)
27. Pineapple (very limited)
28. Strawberry (very limited)
29. Olive Oil
30. Sunflower Seed Oil
31. Honey
32. Unsweetened Raw Cocoa Powder

Now on the GAPS Intro diet, this is what the diet calls for on Stage 1 (3-5 days).  In blue, I also listed the corresponding LEAP diet result and how I plan to modify for my use.

Meat or Fish Stock

• I plan to stay with meat stock, since MRT indicated that I react badly to fish.  Beef broth and chicken broth will be my staples.  I'll see if I can find other soup bones at the farmers market this Saturday.

Boiled Meats (turkey, beef, chicken, wild game, etc.)

• I shouldn't have to modify this much for MRT.  Beef and Turkey are Phase 1, Chicken is Phase 2.  Since meats tested so well for me, I think wild game will be okay too.

Well boiled broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, leeks

• Broccoli is Phase 3
• Cauliflower is Phase 2
• Carrot is Phase 1
• Onion is Phase 2
• Leek is Phase 2
• Should have no problems!

Squash, winter and summer

• Squash, summer:  Here's my biggest conflict.  Zucchini is in the Yellow Zone, so I will avoid it.  Does that mean I should also avoid yellow squash (which shows up in Phase 4 in LEAP)?  How about pattypan or crookneck?  I'm just not sure.
• Squash, winter:  Winter squash is also related to summer squash.  Which, if we want to get really technical, is also related to cucumbers and melons.  So do I avoid winter squash too?   It makes up the bulk of the carbohydrates on this diet and I don't want to go into ketosis.  I'm still undecided on this one.  I think I might try a few days using butternut squash... If I'm not experiencing relief, I'll cut it out for awhile to see if it makes a difference.

Sea Salt

• This is what I've been using for LEAP, so I see no problems.

Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut Juice

• This is a natural probiotic, and they have us ease into it very slowly (1-2 tsp per day), so I don't anticipate this being a conflict with MRT.

As you can see, the GAPS diet integrates pretty darn well with my MRT testing, at least in Stage 1 of the Intro.  The biggest issue is the summer squash - I think I'll avoid it all together.  The winter squash I'll give a go, if I need to, I'll back off.  

I figure if it works, I'll continue to GAPS Intro Stage 2, with the same thought given to staying within the confines of the LEAP diet.  

Day 13

Oops, I got busy!  Today is Day 13 on the LEAP diet.  I am still 100% on Phase 1.  I haven't really noticed improvement of symptoms.  I did intend to redo my measurements and symptom checker on a weekly basis, so I will do that tomorrow.

I read that joint pain can take 3 weeks to 3 MONTHS to subside once you remove whatever it is that is causing the reaction.  Yes, I said three MONTHS!  Yikes. So I am trying to be patient with the process.  Assuming that I eliminated the correct foods, I probably won't see results for at least three weeks.  And if the test didn't catch the right foods... well, then I'm just kinda screwed!  :)

In the meantime, I'm trying to rid my body of candida using the protocol my dietician gave me.  I don't have much time, so I'll try to write more later.

The Doctor Treadmill & Day 5, Phase 1

Once my Mystery Symptoms started appearing, it felt to me like I started seeing lots of doctors.  I don't remember exactly who I saw, in what order, and for what.

I do remember that a general practitioner was convinced I was having trouble with my GI tract and ordered a test where I had to swallow barium and then they x-rayed it.  Nothing showed up.  I also remember seeing a homeopath who said I had Lyme Disease.  I saw another cardiologist who said I was fine.

During this time, I was in high school.  The doctor treadmill had just begun.  No one found anything "wrong" yet I remember not feeling well.  I can't remember exactly what my symptoms were, 20 years later.  This is where I started to get the label of hypochondriac.  My friends were (mostly) kidding, I think.  But I did get the senior class award for "Most Likely to Call in Sick".

Thankfully I was able to keep up with my studies and graduated near the top of my class in 1996.  And I was off to college that fall!

Day 5, Phase 5

So here I am starting Day 5 of the LEAP diet.  I can't say I've had any moments of revelation yet.  I don't feel like one area is significantly better... I'm only starting to wonder - "Am I feeling better?"  What I mean by that is sometimes I think that I'm experiencing less abdominal pain.  I can't quite put my finger on it yet though.  And then sometimes I think my fatigue is lessening.  But then I slept until 10:30 AM this morning.  So there are contradictions to the clues I'm getting.

I feel like my joint pain will be the thing that will be easiest to recognize.  And actually, even more than that:  My ankle stiffness.  Every morning when I get up, and anytime I've been sitting and get back up, the stiffness and pain in my ankles is very noticeable.  My god, I hope that goes away!!!

As for what I'm eating, it is pretty simple fare.  I rarely make recipes, mainly just use whole ingredients (for instance:  beef roast, turkey breast, steamed asparagus, steamed broccoli, etc.).  I have a couple recipes I've been enjoying - the Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple Soup, and my homemade granola.  I've also been enjoying a "dessert" of sunflower seed butter mixed with a little bit of honey, some unsweetened raw cocoa powder, and some of the granola mix.  That definitely satisfies my cravings for dessert.

And yesterday I made Lemonade with Honey.  My husband was a fan, and it was all raw (fresh squeezed lemon juice and raw honey blended with water and chilled), so it was pretty darn healthy for us.  On a hot day like yesterday, we really needed something to replenish our reserves, and this is a MUCH healthier alternative to an energy drink.

Mystery Symptoms & Day 4, Phase 1

When I was in junior high and high school, I started to get "Mystery Symptoms".

One time, after running a mile in gym, I "kind of" passed out.  I remember drifting in and out of consciousness for probably 45 minutes - my friends just thought I was really tired or something.  I felt like I couldn't talk or explain what was happening... like I was suspended in cement or something.  Eventually they got worried for me and a friend's mom took me home.  I of course recovered and I think the consensus ended up being that maybe I hadn't eaten enough that day.

Another time -maybe in 10th grade?- I was in cross country skiing, and at the first ski of the year, we took our heart rate after a quarter mile.  Mine was 220.  My coach didn't believe me so he retook it himself and came up with something over 200.  He immediately had me sit down.  He refused to let me ski until I got the all clear from a cardiologist.  I didn't know it yet, but this was the start to my saga with cardiologists, neurologists, gastroenterologists, ENT docs, and every other specialist under the sun.  That first cardiologist told me "young women don't have heart conditions", but humored me with a Stress Test because my coach demanded it.  It came back all clear, and I was told that I should stop looking for attention like that.  (As if I could control my own heart rate?)

Then there was the time I woke up for school, and was too dizzy to get out of bed.  This just happened to be on a day when there was a HUGE test for AP government (that would determine whether or not I would earn college credit for the course or not).  After a lot of investigation with doctors and chiropractors, my docs said maybe I had Vertigo (which is just a medical word for dizziness!), and told me it was probably because I was nervous for my test and it was probably all in my head... and my chiropractor thought that my neck was out and adjusted my spine.  Honestly, that seemed to fix it at least for that day.  Now I think it was coincidence.  But at least they didn't tell me I was making it up.

Day 4, Phase 1

So today I'm starting Day 4 of Phase 1 of my personalized LEAP diet.  I missed writing yesterday because of a busy day at work.

Yesterday I *may* have started to feel like I had a bit more energy.  Maybe.  Like everyone else, I have good days and bad days, whether I'm following a diet protocol or not.  One day of slight improvement doesn't make me think this is working.  But it is hopeful, at the least.

Today I woke up without stomach/intestinal pain.  This is fairly significant.  When I'm laying flat, my GI pain is more pronounced, which means I usually go to bed with it and wake up with it.  I've had this for at least five years.  Today I didn't notice anything.  Again, one day is not a trend, so I will keep an eye on it.  Again, it is hopeful.

Here is what I'm hoping to improve with the LEAP diet:

• Stomach/intestinal pain - I have had pain in my belly area for at least five years.  I don't know exactly when it started, because it's usually so non-descript.  But I have been experiencing some degree of GI pain for at least that long, maybe longer. I would say it has gotten more pronounced in the past few years - settling to a horizontal line right under my ribs, and then a pretty sharp pain in my lower right abdomen.  There's other things too - sometimes in the middle, sometimes on the left.  Anyone who's experienced GI pain knows that it is truly hard to pinpoint.  Last year, I was checked for everything from appendicitis to gall stones to colon cancer.  They ran lots of tests and all they came up with was "Inflammation of the Ileum".  
• Joint Pain - Again, I'm not exactly sure when this started.  It has crept up on me over time, but I would say again that it's been at least 4-5 years.  This is incredibly limiting, as almost every joint hurts almost all the time.  Literally every knuckle in my hand, to my elbows, to my ankles, and everything in between, even much of my spine.  It's easier to list what doesn't usually hurt - hips, shoulders.  Maybe that's it?  It does seem to be symmetrical, and yes, I've been tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis.  
• Joint Stiffness - This just seems to be my ankles, sometimes my hands.  Most pronounced in the morning.  I have trouble walking because the pain and the stiffness is so great.  Again, this points to RA, but the indicators came back negative, so we are going on the assumption that I don't have it.  I haven't pushed this with my docs, because I probably wouldn't go on RA meds anyway.  I'd try to find another way (reducing inflammation in my body), and that's why I'm doing the LEAP diet.
• Fatigue - Sometimes it's crushing fatigue and sometimes it's just sleepiness.  But every day I feel like I lack energy.  Considering I'm a Type A person who likes to *get shit done!* this is very concerning and limiting.  I am hoping to get my Mojo back!

Last night, I dreamed that I ate somewhere (a friend's house?  out to eat?  I'm not sure.) and my husband reminded me that night that I had gone "off the plan".  For some reason, this hadn't occurred to me at the time, ....

I interrupt this post to bring you stomach/intestinal pain.  It just started in that horizontal line right below my ribs.  It's pretty mild, but it's there.  

Anyway, back to my dream:  for some reason, this hadn't occurred to me at the time, and when my husband reminded me about it, I was incredibly disappointed and frustrated.  I felt like I had ruined all my work.  I hate to think like that ... like it's either all or nothing.  But with this particular diet, it's kind of true.  If I eat one of my sensitive foods, then my body gets aggravated again and I have to calm the immune response again, which will take time.  I was disappointed with myself and ended up being sad about all the work I had lost, and how much longer it would take to get me to feel better.

I am motivated to do this - I'm all in.  I haven't cheated (even with another "green" non-reactive food) and I don't intend to.  I'm a little nervous about what happens if I don't feel better... then what?  But I try not to get ahead of myself, because that's still at least 10 days away, and a lot can happen in that time.  

Day 2, Phase 1

I'm short on time today so I'm just going to be really brief.

Food prep is going well, I'm trying to get creative so I don't get bored.

Today I made a really good soup called Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple and Lentil Soup.  I found it on allrecipes.com and modified it to eliminate the foods I'm not yet eating.  I didn't really make any substitutions, just left out the things I couldn't have, mostly spices and flavorings.  Surprisingly, it was still really good!  Even my husband liked it.  This is definitely a keeper!

I also made some granola, using gluten-free rolled oats, sunflower seeds, honey, sunflower oil, cacao nibs, and salt.  I tried some before I put it in the dehydrator and I think it's going to be really good.  Tomorrow I'll be able to take it out of the dehydrator and try it for breakfast.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

I also started drinking Pau D'Arco tea today to get started on the candida cleanse.  I found that I actually like it pretty well when it's cold and mixed with some lemon juice/wedges.  Tastes almost like an Arnie Palmer!  This might be a really good option for me once I can have chai spices again.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE chai tea lattes?  Tea was in my yellow zone, so I'll need to avoid it for 3-6 months.  But the chai spices (like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, etc) are in my green zone, so I'll be adding those back in the weeks to come.  Mixed with the Pau D'Arco tea, it might actually taste somewhat similar.  Then I'd just need to find a sub for milk/cream.  I'm not sure what my options are there... maybe homemade cashew milk? 

My symptoms were pretty much the same as yesterday - joint pain, stiff ankles, fatigue (mid-afternoon nap again), abd/int pain.  I didn't have a headache (yesterday was pretty rare - I don't usually have headaches).  

Okay, time for bed.  I'm really exhausted!  Fatigue is a symptom I'm hoping to overcome with the LEAP diet.  I don't expect any changes for at least 4-5 days, maybe more.  Let's hope for sooner rather than later!

When It All Started & Day 1, Phase 1

My own personal health journey started the summer after 6th grade, when I fell ill with Mono.  I was really sick and basically spent the whole summer laying in a hammock out on our breezeway.  I didn't know it then, but that summer was the start of a very long health journey that would take me to dozens of doctors and specialists, being diagnosed (incorrectly) with everything from hypoglycemia to lupus to Lyme Disease to fibromyalgia to... on and on and on... and finally ending up at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for a proper diagnoses of a heart condition.  It's the same journey that led me to a naturopathic detox center, a physical therapist with a PRI specialty, and the Weston A. Price Foundation.   But I get ahead of myself.

That summer after the 6th grade was followed by a school-year riddled with illness.  Mainly strep throat.  Something like 13 times.  And a round of antibiotics for each one.  And chronic sinusitis.  With more antibiotics.  When I got my final report card at the end of that school year, my attendance listed that I was absent for a full quarter of the school days.  Thankfully school came easy for me and I still was able to manage straight A's, or I would have been in loads of trouble!  I think my mom would have had to start homeschooling me or something.

My mom was my personal advocate through all this - trying to research how I could get (and stay!) better.  I'm not sure how she came to this conclusion, but she had me stop drinking milk.  Shortly thereafter, my sinus infections cleared up.  My strep throat issue decreased in frequency.  I had a normal 8th grade year!  It was the first time I made the connection between how I was eating and how I felt.

Fast forward to today.  Today is the first day on my LEAP diet, or what they call the ImmunoCalm Dietary Management Program.  It's based on my MRT Food Sensitivity Test Results, which was a blood test I took a couple of weeks ago.  It took 10 days to get the test results back, and here's a summary of what it said for me:

Highly Reactive (Red Zone):

• Almond
• Coconut
• Mango
• Catfish

Moderately Reactive (Yellow Zone):

• Acetaminophen
• Candida Albicans
• MSG
• Benzoic Acid
• Cheddar Cheese
• Garlic
• Paprika
• Parsley
• Blueberry
• Cranberry
• Plum
• Zucchini
• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
• Millet
• Wheat
• Salmon
• Tilapia
• Sole
• Scallop
• Coffee
• Cola
• Tea
• Hazelnut
• Green Pea

To start this diet, they start with your 20-25 least reactive foods (3-5 in each category), and work up from there.  The list above is slightly different than what my test results said.  That's because my dietician is having me avoid dairy and gluten for the time being.  Dairy because of the lactose - I will be trying to rid myself of candida, so I'm avoid sugars for awhile.  And gluten because this test doesn't test for gluten sensitivity.  I've been tested for celiac (negative), but since I'm reactive to wheat, this will allow me to challenge gluten specifically.  

This also doesn't test for pure allergies.  For instance, it listed that shrimp was low-reactive for me but I've never done well with seafood, so I am avoiding it.

You can see I mostly added vegetables, since we have a big vegetable garden and it's just starting to be harvest time.   

Here is my list for now:

Protein

1. Beef
2. Turkey
3. Lentil
4. Chicken

Starches

1. Sweet Potato
2. Oat
3. Quinoa

Vegetables

1. Beet
2. Spinach
3. Asparagus
4. Carrot
5. Broccoli
6. Lettuce
7. Greens

Fruits

1. Cantaloupe
2. Olive
3. Orange
4. Apple

Dairy/Misc

1. Cocoa

Nuts/Seeds/Oils

1. Olive Oil
2. Sunflower Seed

Flavor Enhancers

1. Cumin
2. Lemon
3. Carob
4. Honey 

Once I start (hopefully) feeling better (should be with a week or two), then I start adding things back in, based on the reactivity.  If I don't feel well after a couple weeks, we start taking things out (most likely starting with fructose, since my dietician is wondering if I am having problems absorbing fructose).  

I also wanted to track my stats and measurements.  This is probably the scariest thing for me (what woman wants to give out her measurements???), but I still think it's good to know if what I'm doing is working.  Mainly, I'll track my main symptoms/complaints for the day.  On a weekly basis, I'll also record my weight, clothing size, and measurements.  Ugh.  :)  

Just as a means of establishing a baseline:  I'm 5'6" with a normal/muscular build.  I was a steady 140 lbs from 8th grade until my mid to late-20s.  I am currently 35 years old.  I believe my ideal weight is 145-150. 

Main symptoms:  Joint pain (specifically ring finger on my left hand, pointer fingers, ankles, knees), stiff ankles, mid-afternoon fatigue (took a brief nap), slight headache.  I also experienced mid-severe intestinal/abdominal pain after dinner (beef roast with olive oil and salt, sweet potato).  

Weight:  191.7

Clothing Size:  16

Waist:  43.25

Hips:  45.5

Upper Arms:  12.75

Upper Thighs:  25.75

Calves:  15.875

Bust:  41.5

'twas the night before LEAP...

On Wednesday, I got my MRT test results.  We had to rush right to work so I didn’t have time to really digest what they said.  In fact, work has been extremely busy and I haven’t had a lot of time for much else.  Which is concerning as I embark on the LEAP diet, considering that my food prep will take more time and I’ll just need to be more conscientious in general about what I’m ingesting.  Also, I just feel like I need time to research and look up creative recipes.  Ugh.  Ah, I'm just kidding – I’m up for the challenge!  I'm actually really passionate about healthy food and the effects it has... BUT, I'm also really pressed for time.  So this will be an interesting experiment!

The real purpose of this blog is to document my experience with MRT/LEAP.  When I was researching the testing, it felt like I could only find a forum post or two, or sponsored websites that sold the testing.  It was really difficult to find a full account – starting from the beginning… what prompted the test?  what do I hope will happen (what results am I hoping to see)?  how long did it take a real person to see results?  what sort of setbacks should I expect?  And eventually, I hope to answer the question… did it work?  

I saw lots of testimonials and did my research, but I would have liked to see a first-person account.  The ups and downs and everything in between.  I hope this blog can maybe help someone in the future, when they are considering the testing.  Or just experiencing nagging health problems and don’t know what else to do.

For the past -oh- maybe 16 years, I have been aware that the foods I eat make a real difference in how I feel.  Before that I hadn't given it much thought.  I’ll be covering my food journey in pretty great detail in this blog, since that’s what it’s all about.  Foods and their effects on our health.  

My family always tried to eat healthy, and I discovered the origins of our food source a long time ago – big family garden, fishing, hunting, etc.  My mom always did her very best to feed us healthy foods.  But over time, our perception of what is healthy and what isn’t has changed drastically.  I’ll cover this topic more in future posts.  Here is one of my first experiences with catching my own food!

 

I'm the little girl on the right!  :)  

My mom canned much of our food, baked our breads, made dinner from scratch just about every night (going out was a VERY special event!), sent our lunches to school (man, were we envious of the kids who got to eat school lunches!), and did everything in her power to keep us kids healthy!  So how did I end up here?  It’s a long story.  And one I’ll cover over time in this blog.

Also in future posts, I’ll cover questions like:

• What exactly is MRT testing and the LEAP diet?
• What are the symptoms that prompted me to get the testing done?
• What am I hoping to achieve with the LEAP diet?

I’ll also document my stats: symptoms, weight, size, etc.  Yikes!  Okay, I’m a little nervous about that part.  :)

Tomorrow’s my first day following Phase 1 of the LEAP protocol, and I’ll write a little bit about my own personal health history too.  But now it’s time for a good nights sleep!  If you guys have any questions about anything, please feel free to pop in and ask a question in the comments.  I’m happy you’re here!